The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-05

L
choker, wearing regular sailor shirt
and scotch cap.
@Ive been to sea some, Cap'n," he
says, in quiet sort of way, sand it'll
do me good to stir round with the men
q little-Pd like to-"
Cap'n Gore stared, and smiled in his
dry way, but said nothing. And Mr..
Venn did stir round.
We bod two reefing Jobs before noon
- first a single then a double, and both
times Pm blessed if the young Teller
wasn't to the weather yard arm hang
ing on to the lift with his earrin' ready
rove to haul out, before We men was
fairly on the yard.
Yet he didn't forget his profession
neither. 1t was Kelly, the worst swear
ing man aboard, stood next him, and
when Kelly begun his regular cursing,
Mr.. Venn says:
@Mr. Kelly, your own priest would
tell you you were endangering your
soul-and the sail doesn't pick up a
bit easier, either"
Right you are, parson," says Kelly,
and Mr.. Venn was the "sailor parson"
after that with all hands. He knew
| just what to say and when to say it
and we fellows took to him nightly,
specially as all but sleeping for'ard he
filled Boxes place in the watch day and
night
But it was awful weather, and we were
two days and nights beating to wind
ward before the Eddystone light
showed up. This was early Sunday
forenoon, and when the watch was sent
below, Boxer wasn't in his bunk.
Now there was only board bulkhead
deck, and tho for'ard hold. Then,
somebody noticed one of the boards
was loose, whilst there was tremen-
dous smell of rum in the fo'c'sle itself.
We mistrusted what it meant in a
minute. We showed the board away
and the whole thing comes to me now
like photograph.
What with the rolling and pounding,
some of the upper tier of the cargo
had shifted. Three or four of the pow
der kegs was stove atop of the punch
cons and casks of rum, and there sat
Boxer in the middle of 'em. One of
the half empty kegs was iammed down
into heap of loose powder to stiddy
it, and in the end bunghole was lighted
tallow dip with paper round the butt to
keep it in place!
Boxer had somehow got big gimlet
from the carpenters room and tapped
rum puncheon. And there he sat
a-straddle of it like seafaring Bacchus,
drinking the raw liquor out of tin
pannikin as though it was water, while
every time the brig rolled little heavi-
/ %ha,, ,,a,,o1 ao,,11 ha
der-keg with the candle in it work back
and forth in the powder heap.
I've been scarf in my day, but never
nothing like that. l only wonder my
hair didn't turn white in minute, as
the story writer's say.
don't think as quick as some, and
while was standing staring, Peter,
one of the Firms in my watch, had run
aft to Cap'n Gore, and the next thing /
saw was the old man standing right be-
hind me with one of those Prooshan
army "needleguns" cooked and ready
for action.
"Hullo, Cap" Boxer sung out, way
ing the pannikin round his head, crazy
as a coot, "come on, and have just one
drink before it's too late. Because"
he said, going on quick and fast, I'm
q man of education, and this thing of
sending rum and missionaries to At
| RIGA isn't quite the thing; so I'm going
to send the whole kit of us skyhigh di-
recly the candle gets burned trihe
lowerw
Passengers included, there were four
teen of us all told at the mercy of one
sailor, crazy drunk and as he lurched
for'ard, having the idea of shutting the
candles with his fingers so we could
see, Captain Gore jerked the gun to
his shoulder.
Sod forgive mel" heard him say
sort of under his breath, as he steadied
himself and glanced along the barrel.
wait one moment!"
1t was the parson; and, as he spoke
in half whisper, he pulled the cap
tain's finger away from the rifles trig-
ger guard.
"Step back" he whispered and
pushing himself in front of Captain
Gore, who was struck aback for the
minute, he sung out:
"Dacy-Charlie Dacy!"
Drunk and crazy-both, in fact
Boxer started back like he'd been shot,
| instead of being within hairs breadth
Il
of it,
Before Boxer could speak the parson
squeezed himself through the narrow
place in the bulkhead and gripped
Boxers two wrists in his hands, which
never would have believed were so
strong.
Charlie the parson says, solemn
like, you aren't yourself, como"
But Charlie" as he called him,
wasn't himself by no manner of means.
and he grappled the parson with yell
that was awful. But the parsou hung
on with deathgrip, and we fellows
broke through the bulkhead to help
him.
1t wasn't long before that candle was
in safe hands, / can tell you, and then
Boxer lashed hand and foot, was car
ried into the fo'c'sle and tied in his
! bunk.
But all this while the mate was in
charge of the deck, and the wind haul
ing further and further to the south
ard and BASTARD, was driving the brig
to loo'ard. And just as Cap'n Gore
run on deck the reefed foresail bust
and blowed into rags in twinkling.